Bitter Gherkins

[Chrispy]

I am growing some Gherkins http://www.kingsseeds.com/kolist/1/VEGETABLES/V-C/CUCUMBER/5/12008.htm
They are producing a few fruit, not enough to pickle yet so just eating them fresh.
The first few were fine, but now thay have turned very bitter.

Is this just down to stress/hot weather or something else? Any tips.

[Chrispy]

[goodlife]

It well be...have they slowed down with growth too?...try to give more water..not straight close to stem so you are not rotting it..but around the root area..if the fruit doesn't get quite enough water..it may affect the flavour

[Tee Gee]

I am growing these for the first time this year and as these are of the same family as cucumber could it be a flower problem?

That is;male/female flowers pollinating each other where it might be better to remove the male flowers as you do with cucumbers?

It's just a thought!

[realfood]

It may depend on the variety of gherkin. I am growing Bimbostar this year in my greenhouse, and I had to check with the packet which for this variety says leave the male flowers on. I ate the first one today and it is delicious!

[chriscross1966]

I was eating piccolo di parigi last year and they were lovely though the skins were armour-plate.....  you leave the male flowers on, it's a type of ridge cucumber after all.... sounds more like water stress than anything else.....

chrisc

[davyw1]

If they are are a none F! then i would say the cause is cross pollination

[Chrispy]

Thank you all.

Thinking about removing the male flowers, I had a close look at the plant and noticed that there were not many male flowers, and some fruit were dropping off because they had not been pollinated.

I do have some other cucumbers on the plot, although a distance away, but with the lack of male flowers I guess cross pollination could be the problem.

Does not bode well for my other cucumbers, I thought I would try 3 different variates, and they are all planted next to each other :'(

[realfood]

In the Kings' catalogue page, the fact that there is no comment on pollination, would suggest that pollination is required to produce fruit. Why not send them an e-mail enquiry for the answer?

[davyw1]

There is also a number of other factors
Too hot – One of the most common reasons why a cucumber is bitter is due to heat stress. If a plant is stressed due to heat, it may start producing bitter cucumbers.

Uneven watering – Another possibility for what causes bitter cucumber is if a cucumber goes through alternating periods of drought and overwatering, the stress from this can cause the plant to produce bitter fruit.

Temperature fluctuations – If the temperature fluctuates dramatically from one extreme to another over an extended period of time, the plant may start producing bitter cucumbers.